Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington (38) gets around Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Brian Price (92) for a first down in the first quarter in University of Phoenix Stadium on Sept. 25, 2017 in Glendale, Ariz. less

Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington (38) gets around Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Brian Price (92) for a first down in the first quarter in University of Phoenix Stadium on Sept. 25, 2017 in ... more

Photo: Rodger Mallison /Fort Worth-Star Telegram

Defensive tackle Price took unconventional path to Cowboys

1 / 3

Back to Gallery

DALLAS — When Brian Price works at his craft, there is little subtlety involved, which is not surprising considering Price’s size (6-foot-3, 318 pounds) and his job (Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman).

Size comes in handy in the collision business and when he’s on the field, Price knows there will be a major clash every play. So he employs a simple technique that has served him well.

“I’m a nose tackle so I’m going to bull-rush anybody that gets in my way,” said Price, the former UTSA defensive lineman. “I’m that way all the time and my friends give me a hard time for being that way. But that’s how I got here.”

That is true on and off the field. Price’s physical talent and aggressive approach on the field led to the Cowboys signing him the week before the regular season began. If Price had been any less determined off the field, however, the Cowboys would have never known about him.

Pro Team Sports

Price is from Lafayette, Indiana, a city of 70,000 and home of Purdue University, but not a hotbed of talent with NFL potential. Price made the Indiana all-state team in his junior and senior years, but did not receive any college scholarship offers. He did not brood, however. He bull-rushed.

Price found a recruiting website that allowed players to post their own videos, so he wrote his own bio, created a highlight reel and began getting feelers from junior colleges. What happened from that point until now is so unlikely that it would make a nice little football fairy tale.

The first stop was Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California, about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

“They found me on the website and recruited me hard,” Price said. “They showed the most interest and cared about me as a person, so when I found out they were good people, it made sense to go there.”

The distance from Lafayette to Santa Maria is 2,229 miles.

His next stop was UTSA.

“They contacted me after my first season and they flew out to meet me to see how I was as a person,” Price said, “and a month later, I was a Roadrunner.”

The distance from Santa Maria to San Antonio is 1,524 miles.

Price played for the Roadrunners for three years. He was bothered by a shoulder injury his last two seasons but still impressed pro scouts. One scouting service predicted: “He’ll find himself drafted in the top 25 picks.”

Instead, he went undrafted.

“To not get that call on draft day is heartbreaking,” Price said. “I am a modest person so I expected to not get drafted, but I still wanted to hear my name called. When I didn’t, I tried to make the best of the situation.”

After the draft, there is a free-for-all with teams signing undrafted players, hoping to find a gem like Tony Romo, who was not drafted.

Price’s agent heard from more than 20 teams, which was encouraging for Price. He decided to sign with the Green Bay Packers, where he spent his 2016 rookie season on the practice squad.

The distance from San Antonio to Green Bay is 1,391 miles.

Price did not make the 53-man roster for the 2017 Packers and was waived. They could have signed him again to the practice squad, but the Cowboys liked Price enough that they released defensive lineman Cedric Thornton, who only a year earlier had signed a four-year, $17 million dollar deal.

“He’s a real good addition for us,” said defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. “He’s a big thick man and he’s physical inside. He’s got good, quick feet and he’s an active, athletic guy. We’re counting on him to play a lot of football.”

Although he did not appear in a game for the Packers last season, he saw playing time right away for the Cowboys. He was signed only a week before the first regular-season game, but still played 17 snaps against the New York Giants.

“I feel like he did a really good job coming in that first game,” said veteran defensive end Tyrone Crawford. “The system demands a lot and he was able to step it up and make plays.”

In the first four games of the regular season, Price has been on the field for 82 plays, or 29 percent of the time the Cowboys were on defense.

Although he has yet to record a sack, his stats are actually better than fellow defensive lineman Taco Charlton, the Cowboys’ 2017 No. 1 draft pick. Price has recorded five tackles and one assist while Charlton has only two tackles and one assist.

It is a modest start for the 23-year-old Price, but the result of his improbable journey is a certainty that he belongs.

“I know now where my work ethic can take me,” he said. “I’m not cocky; just confident. It doesn’t matter if I wasn’t drafted in the first or second round, I’m a tough player and I know I have what it takes to play in the NFL.”

But that doesn’t mean he will be taking anything for granted — not after a distinguished high school career that resulted in no scholarship offers and a pro career that began after he was undrafted.

The distance from Green Bay to Dallas is 1,118 miles.

All told, Price’s journey from Lafayette to Allan Hancock to San Antonio to the NFL has encompassed 6,262 miles. But the distance pales to the size of the challenges Price has had to overcome. He may be on the 53-man roster, but he is not yet secure.

“I really like it in Dallas,” he said. “I have great teammates, a great coaching staff and front office. It’s a great organization and I’m happy to be here. But I can’t be comfortable. I still have to work like a practice-squad guy. I have to work like an undrafted guy. If I keep doing that, it will take me a long way.”